The Tasting Panel magazine

June 2015

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32 / the tasting panel / june 2015
OVER THE TABLE
Tasting Highlights
Collier Falls 2012
Zinfandel, Hillside
Estate, Dry Creek
Valley, Sonoma ($36)
Consulting winemaker
Marco DiGuilio
produces this bright
wine, which is lofty,
showing candied red
fruit, red floral notes,
integrated oak, coffee
and tobacco notes on the finish.
Quivira 2013
Sauvignon Blanc,
Fig Tree Vineyard,
Dry Creek Valley,
Sonoma ($24)
Produced from the
Musqué clone, all
native yeast ferment
with some neutral
oak and acacia wood
aging give weight to
the wine, while grassy notes mingle
with lime zest, underscored by racy
acidity and a salty seashell character.
Kokomo 2014
Sauvignon Blanc,
Timber Crest
Vineyard, Dry Creek
Valley, Sonoma ($22)
This 100% Musqué
clone serves up
lychee, lime zest
and stone fruit, with
chalk-like mineral
character and mouth-
watering acidity—slightly fleshy from
barrel ageing.
Truett-Hurst 2013
"Luci" Zinfandel,
Dry Creek Valley,
Sonoma ($35) A nose
of mocha and blast of
red berry, weighty on
the palate, chewy
tannins, dark berries
and cocoa on a
lengthy finish.
I
n 1869, the first vineyard was planted in Dry Creek Valley; by the end of the
1880s, there were just over 50 vineyard sites, mainly planted with Zinfandel.
Today, more than 9,000 acres are planted to vine and over 70 wineries are
producing an array of varieties from Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel to
Cabernet Sauvignon, Rhône white varieties, Montepulciano and more.
On a recent visit, I tasted an array of wines with Cindi Howley, General
Manager of
Truett-Hurst Winery; Andrew Fegelman, Marketing Director
of
Quivira Winery; Randy Peters, grower and partner of Kokomo Winery;
and Barry Collier, owner of Collier Falls Winery and Vice President of the
Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley association.
"We're much more laid back here," Collier told me. "It's not a corporately-
driven valley. Most owners are multigenerational families who live here and
most produce less than 5,000 cases. People stay longer when visiting, they
ask a lot of questions—they want to know what you've done in life."
My questioning dug up some interesting back-stories on Fegelman,
who was a journalist with the Chicago Tribune, and Collier, who produced
B-movies for HBO, Showtime, USA Network and Turner. Peters, a fourth-
generation grower, dialed it back to the vines. "We have extreme tempera-
ture variances, so we can raise different varieties like Malbec and Merlot,"
he explained. "Our Zinfandels are special for that dark cherry flavor, which is
coaxed out by the Cortina gravely loam that runs along Dry Creek and West
Dry Creek Road."
"And the higher up you go," chimed in Collier, "it turns to red clay, or 'Dry
Creek conglomerate,' and then it changes to sandy loam at the top. So, I
grow Zinfandel at 300 feet and Cabernet at 1,000 feet."
Spotlight on
Dry Creek Valley
You'll be reminded of the famous Lompoc Wine Ghetto with
a stop at the Family Wineries Dry Creek Cooperative Tasting
Room. In the same vicinity: Kokomo Winery, Amphora Winery,
Dry Creek Olive Oil Company and others.
story and photos by Jonathan Cristaldi